Tag Archives: Hope

Dec30

Nothing is Impossible

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Nothing is impossible

 

“So the impossible is possible with God.”

Luke 1:37 (VOICE)

With God, nothing is impossible! What an encouraging, universal truth. Though the demands you face today may seem insurmountable in light of your own limitations and weaknesses, remind yourself that The God of All Possibilities is right beside you, as an ever-present help. He simply asks that you trust Him and stay connected to His limitless resources through each moment of the day. When anxiety invades your thoughts and you feel overwhelmed, turn your attention away from obstacles and difficulties and focus on His capabilities, rather than your inabilities. When troubles seem near, God is nearer, and He’s ready to help. Remember that He is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than you could ever imagine or request in your wildest dreams. 

If your life’s purposes and actions are directly aligned with God’s will, nothing can derail you. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, every moment of your day. Trust Him to illuminate each step of your journey and to equip you to handle any problems that come your way. It’s through your weaknesses that God displays His infinite strength, so His power working through you is an unstoppable combination!

  • “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.” Ephesians 3:20 (MSG)
  • “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV)
  • “God is our shelter and our strength. When troubles seem near, God is nearer, and He’s ready to help. So why run and hide?” Psalm 46:1 (VOICE)
  • “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 (NIV)
  • “But he said to me, “My grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So I am very happy to brag about how weak I am. Then Christ’s power can rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIRV)
  • “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG)
Nov6

Little Things Matter

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Everyone can do something

 “And serve each other according to the gift each person has received,

as good managers of God’s diverse gifts.”
1 Peter 4: 10 CEB
 

Just think what a difference we could make in our community, our state, our nation…or throughout the world..if we ALL gave just a little bit of time, money, or talent for serving others? A few dollars out of your pocket, a few cans of food out of your pantry, or a few minutes out of your day, may not mean much to you, but to others it can mean everything.

So take a moment and think about the blessings in your life, and consider what one thing you can do today to serve others. If we all did our part, the result would be like the ever-expanding ripple effect from dropping a small pebble into a body of water. The sphere of influence of our combined actions could increase incrementally and spread throughout the world. The little things do matter!

“Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything.” 1 Peter 4:10 (MSG)

  •  “We are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”  Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
  • ” Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”  Hebrews 10:24
  • “Whoever speaks should do so as those who speak God’s word.  Whoever serves should do so from the strength that God furnishes.  Do this so that in everything God may be honored through Jesus Christ. To him be honor and power forever and always. Amen.”  1 Peter 4:11 (CEB)
  • Realize that the purpose of money is to strengthen friendships, to provide opportunities for being generous and kind. Eventually money will be useless to you—but if you use it generously to serve others, you will be welcomed joyfully into your eternal destination. Luke 16:9 (VOICE)
  • “In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.”  2 Timothy 2: 20 – 21 (MSG)
 http://howtoberich.org/time/
Sep22

Soul Strength

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Sails to a ship

 

 

“On the day I needed You,
I called, and You responded 
and infused my soul with strength.”
Psalm 138:3 (VOICE)
 

 Do you need an infusion of strength in your soul? Then plug into your Divine Power Source through prayer.

Prayer is your direct connection to God.  It is sharing what’s on your heart with your Heavenly Father ~ not that God doesn’t already know what’s on your heart, because He knows that better than you can even express it to Him. But by expressing your heart’s desires to Him, you acknowledge your dependence on Him and your gratitude for His blessings and help. In fact, one of the shortest verses in all the Bible, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT) says simply, “Pray continually.” So in other words, in all circumstances, never stop talking to God and sharing your heart with Him.

  • When you are worried, pray.
  • When you are afraid, pray.
  • When you are thankful, pray.
  • When you are sick, pray.
  • When you’re in need, pray.
  • When you’re heartbroken, pray.
  • When you are confused, pray.
  • When you are happy, pray.
  • When you need courage, pray.
  • When you need comfort, pray.
  • When you need forgiveness, pray.

Even though God doesn’t always answer your prayers in the exact way you think He should, you can be confident that:

  • He bends down to listen ~ “Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” Psalm 116:2 (NLT)
  • He hears your prayers~ “We live in the bold confidence that God hears our voices when we ask for things that fit His plan.” 1 John 5:14 (VOICE) 
  • And He answers your prayers ~  “I will answer their prayers before they finish praying.” Isaiah 65:24 (CEV)

So tap into your heavenly source of soul strength through prayer, and remember this good advice, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” Phil 4:6 (MSG)

“Never stop praying.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)

“You can get anything—anything you ask for in prayer—if you believe.” Matthew 21:22 (TLB)

Sep21

The Bridge to Your Brightest Tomorrow

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Bridge to the brightest tomorrow

 


“The deepest pains may linger through the night,
    but joy greets the soul with the smile of morning.”
Psalm 30:5b (VOICE)
 

When you’re in the clutches of an agonizingly painful situation, it’s easy to focus on your suffering and lose sight of the bright ray of hope emerging on your horizon.  If your world is falling apart the difficulties you are experiencing can be overwhelming. Every thought is filtered through a sieve of pain, pressure and misery. Jeremiah was going through a tough time, too, and here he gives a vivid description of how he was feeling ~ including the One thing that pulled him through:

“Just thinking of my troubles and my lonely wandering makes me miserable.
That’s all I ever think about, and I am depressed.
Then I remember something that fills me with hope.
 The Lord’s kindness never fails!
If He had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed.
The Lord can always be trusted to show mercy each morning.
Deep in my heart I say, “The Lord is all I need; I can depend on Him!”

Lamentations 3: 19-24 (CEB)

It’s understandable that you might be depressed if you continually think about your troubles. But if you turn your attention to the God of Hope and reach down deep into the depths of your heart to say, “The Lord is all I need; I can depend on Him!” ~ your pain will be displaced with seeds of heavenly hope, which will grow into His divine joy, the kind which greets your soul with a smile. Remind yourself that God can use everything in your life for something good…even the darkest nights and the deepest pains.

“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18(MSG)

Sep20

On We Go!

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Go Forward

 

 

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 
Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water 
so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.”
Exodus 14:15 – 16 (NIV)
 

Is God telling you to “move on” today? Is there something you have been praying about, and you sense that God has told you to move in a direction that seems humanly impossible? You can always be sure that if God leads you to it, He will lead you through it.  If you listen carefully to your Heavenly Father’s divine directives and follow His guidance, He can turn dead ends into miraculous detours.

With mountains on one side and the red sea at their backs, the Israelites felt trapped as Pharaoh’s pursuing army closed in on them.  There was no obvious route for their escape, and the people were terrified. But God told Moses to stop crying out to Him and start moving…into the direction of the Red Sea!  The people had no idea that God would part the sea for them to cross on dry land.  As God’s chosen leader, Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.  The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14: 13)  Moses had just witnessed God’s incredible deliverance of the Israelites out of bondage from Egypt, and he had faith that God would again protect His children and provide a way of escape from the approaching army. Moses obeyed God’s command, raised his staff, stretched out his hand over the sea, and watched the miracle unfold before his eyes as the sea parted and made a way of escape for God’s children.

So there comes a time when we need to stop praying and start doing. If Moses had doubted God’s directives and continued praying for another answer, the Israelites might have been doomed. Often we refrain from doing whatever God is calling us to do because we are fearful and we doubt our abilities.  But even in your most desperate situations, you can be sure that God is whispering in your ear, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake( you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)  So with God by your side, you can have confidence to move on. Absolutely nothing is impossible for the God of all possibilities.  Never doubt His power nor His abilities.  His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His solutions are beyond our imagination. God’s greatest work is accomplished through our weaknesses.  When we are weak, He is strong, and in our weaknesses God can shine!  On we go!

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'” Matthew 19:26 (NIV)

“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:14 (NLT)

Sep16

Every New Day is a Second Chance

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Every New Day

 

 

“Yet this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
Great is Your Faithfulness!”
Lamentations 3:21 – 23
 

Every sunrise serves as a shining ray of hope, reminding God’s children about His inexhaustible supply of love and mercy ~ they are new every morning.

To fully comprehend this continually renewable resource of divine mercy, here are a few ways to define it:

  • kindness or help given to people who are in a very bad or desperate situation
  • a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion
  • kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly
  • compassionate treatment of those in distress

So if you’re in a desperate situation in need of a “second chance,” be encouraged to know that the Father of mercy compassionately dispenses daily acts of divine favor, and there will never be a shortage of His kindness and forgiveness. As constant as the waves rolling into the seashore, His mercies are new every morning, and they won’t ever come to an end. The situation is never hopeless when you place your hope in the Great Faithfulness of your compassionate and gracious Heavenly Father.

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” Exodus 34:6
 “The Lord within her is righteous; He does no wrong. Morning by morning He dispenses his justice, and every new day He does not fail, yet the unrighteous know no shame.” Zephaniah 3:5
Sep13

Trust the God of Limitless Possibilities

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All I have seen Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

“Have you never heard?
    Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
    No one can measure the depths of his understanding.”
Isaiah 40:28
 

Our finite human minds cannot begin to comprehend the infinite wisdom of God. We try to understand and explain God using our limited knowledge and language based on our earthly experiences, but the scope of God’s almighty and all-powerful attributes is beyond human comprehension. And probably the most difficult thing for us to grasp is that the Creator of all the earth ~ Who never grows weak or weary ~ cares for each of us personally. He is readily available 24/7 to hear our prayers and provide help, healing, comfort, provision, strength, courage or safety for His children.

Is there something you are dealing with that seems overwhelming – like you don’t have the power or wisdom to face it on your own? Turn to the God of Limitless Possibilities and ask Him for help.  He cares about every intimate detail of your life. Nothing is impossible ~ or too wonderful ~ for Him.

 “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

“And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Luke 18:27
 
“Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! There is nothing too hard or too wonderful for You— ” Jeremiah 32:17 (AMP)
Sep12

Seeing with Eyes of Faith

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Faith is like a radar
“The path we walk is charted by faith, not by what we see with our eyes.”
2 Corinthians 5:7 (VOICE)
 

If you have ever driven through a dense fog, you know how difficult it is to navigate safely through the dangerous conditions, especially if you are unfamiliar with the road. Your visibility is limited, and you can’t see what hazards lie ahead.

Sometimes your journey through life can also feel like you are passing through a thick cloud bank of uncertainty.  You can’t see what lies ahead, and you feel scared and unsure of which direction you should head.  But the Author of Life sees your future clearly. After all, He wrote your story, and He knows the beginning, the middle and the end.  If you place your faith in Him and allow His divine guidance to be your radar, you can be certain that He will chart the BEST path for your life. Trust Him for all the things your human eyes cannot see.

 

Your ears will hear sweet words behind you: “Go this way. There is your path; this is how you should go” whenever you must decide whether to turn to the right or the left. Isaiah 30:21 (VOICE)

 Teach me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; Guide me in your truth and teach me, for your are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5 (NIV)
 
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)
Sep7

Hope Sets us Free

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Hope sets us free to experience joy

May the God of Hope fill you with all
JOY and PEACE
as you trust in him,
so that you may overflow with hope…
Romans 15:13 (NIV)
 

With God, nothing is impossible!  So if you place your trust in the God of All Possibilities…if you wholeheartedly believe in the God of Miracles…if you have faith in the God of Hope…you will be filled with joy and peace.  Your feeling of hopelessness will change to hope-FULL-ness, so much so that you will be filled to the brim and bubbling over with hope. The despair, distress and discouragement that once consumed you will be replaced with confident expectation.

So if your life circumstances seem irreversible, incurable, or insurmountable, simply place your trust in the God of Hope and experience His joy and peace.

“For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Luke 1:37 (NKJV)
 
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
 
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
Hebrews 6:19 (NIV)
Sep6

Strength that Endures the Unendurable

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good morning suwanee
 
“We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—
not the grim strength of gritting your teeth
but the glory-strength God gives.
It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy…”
Colossians 1:11 (MSG)
 

Are you enduring something today that seems “unendurable?”  Perhaps you are suffering through pain or heartbreak that feels unbearable, like you don’t have the stamina to take another step. Or maybe you are living through oppressive circumstances that seem impossible to tolerate, and you are completely depleted of your own energy.

The great news is that God gives “glory-strength” to His children, which allows us to endure the seemingly unendurable. The strength of the Lord will support you and carry you through your time of suffering. His divine power source gives you the inner fortitude to stick it out over the long haul, and it’s a source of energy that is readily available and constantly renewable.  Each one of God’s children has a direct pipeline to this heavenly power supply, so there will never be an energy crisis with God’s children!

The truly beautiful thing about the uplifting strength that God’ provides is that it spills over into joy. Once you tap into the glory-strength of God, you realize that with Him, you can endure anything! And that wonderful realization brings about a pure joy which bubbles up from inside and spills into all areas of your life. Your circumstances might not have changed one bit, but you have been infused with a glorious strength to endure the unendurable!

“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. ”
Philippians 4:13 (NIV)